Summer is underway and hopefully you are taking advantage of the longer days and beautiful Seattle weather. If you haven’t picked up a Book Bingo card or your Summer of Learning gameboard, it’s not too late to start! Here are some new picture books for your summer reading that capture that summer feeling.
Don’t Trust FishWritten by Neil Sharpson and illustrated by Dan Santat
Playwright and novelist Neil Sharpson takes a crack at writing for children with this crack-up of a picture book. I genuinely laughed out loud reading about all the reasons why we should never trust a fish. Add in Caldecott award winning illustrator Dan Santat and you can’t miss. Highly recommend this book if you need a laugh.
Written and illustrated by Nina Crews
Nina Crews, daughter of Donald Crews and Ann Jonas (and thus heir to the children’s book throne), has come out with another wonderful picture book. Big Family Beach Day outlines a day at the beach and all the joy and belonging you can find there. It’s the perfect thing to read before heading out to Alki or Lincoln Park.
Written by Annie Silvestro and illustrated by Ziyue Chen
Annie Silvestro is an author of children’s books such as Mice Skating among others. In Signs of Friendship, Silvestro writes about two little girls who have a close friendship. One of the girls is deaf so they both learn American Sign Language to speak with each other, thus the cute title. One day one of the girls makes a new friend, which results in some jealousy. However, all three end up bonding and becoming friends in the end. A really sweet tale that can help children navigate those big feelings.
So hopefully this summer you will go to the beach with your friends, but if you do… remember: don’t trust fish. 😊
-posted by Ms. Amanda